Frankie Edgar Gets Well-Deserved Title Shot Right Away

by Dr. Octagon, J.D.

People are complaining that Frankie Edgar doesn’t deserve a title shot against Jose Aldo. That’s the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.

If the judges weren’t blind, Edgar would be the lightweight champion right now. I don’t care that he has a loss on his record. People keep saying his fight against Benson Henderson was close. It definitely was. But it was a close fight that should have been a clear decision for Edgar. I had him up two rounds, most others had him up one. The closest thing I’ve seen to a pro-Henderson card was Jordan Breen’s draw over at Sherdog, and while Jordan undoubtedly knows his shit, I can’t remember the last time I saw a judge give out a draw on a round during an actual fight.

So on almost everyone’s card but the judges, Frankie just beat the champion in a heavier weight class. If you’re going to gripe about someone getting a title shot, there is a certain light heavyweight challenger that is more deserving of your ire. [[MORE]]

So the UFC has Frankie in the weight class they wanted him in, but I believe on the day of the fight we’re going to see that Jose Aldo is also bigger than him. Aldo is also probably the best striker Edgar has ever faced, but Frankie has hung with way bigger guys, most notably knocking out Gray Maynard, an absolutely enormous lightweight. Usually when a guy goes down a weight class, especially this fast, one would worry whether or not he can make the cut without losing strength. However, Edgar’s been walking around at just a little over 155 lbs., so the cut down to 145 really shouldn’t be very hard for him.

It will be interesting to see whether Frankie’s in and out style will work against a fighter as quick as Aldo. Frankie usually takes at least one big shot in each of his fights, and the theory has been that he doesn’t go down because he doesn’t have to cut weight. It has something to do with dehydration causing a decrease in spinal fluids or something. Don’t quote me on that. Anyway, I’m hoping Frankie has the same chin after he cuts weight. He really got screwed in his last fight, so I’m hoping he can get some redemption here. Should be a great card either way.

As always, I’d like to hear your opinions on the fight. My mailbox has been overflowing recently, but I’ll try to get responses out soon.